CalPERS has New Investment Standards

The nation´s largest pension fund is imposing new investment standards on the 90 investment banks and broker-dealers with which it does business.

The move by the $130 billion California Public Employees´ Retirement System follows similar standards adopted last month by the nation´s third-largest pension fund the California State Teachers´ Retirement System.

The standards are based on the reforms negotiated this spring by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, and 10 major investment banks.

Among requirements is that banks physically and administratively separate their research and investment banking practices, creating “firewalls” to prevent any communication between the two.